New Lara Croft announced

February 15, 2006 1:14 AM

Eidos announces a new Lara Croft (of Tomb Raider fame) to take over from Angelina Jolie. Her name is Karima Adebibe, and she is a completely unknown shop assistant from London. She has some big ... boots ... to fill.
posted by SharQ (45 comments total)

Maybe it's just me, but judging by the pic accompanying that blurb, she really does not look like the character much at all.
posted by nightchrome at 1:20 AM on February 15, 2006

Nightchrome, there were more pictures in this morning's Metro and you're absolutely right. She looks nothing like Lara from the game as such.

But she has big boobies. Which apparently are Lara Croft's defining feature. And hotpants. Does anyone actually care about this franchise after the games and films were universally rubbish?

/Filmgeek tangent
At least the second film finally put a bullet in the brian of Jan de Bont's career as director. Or so I thought... fuck
posted by slimepuppy at 1:59 AM on February 15, 2006

brian = brain
posted by slimepuppy at 2:01 AM on February 15, 2006

i hated to Tomb Raider movies, but that had nothing to do with Angelina Jolie doing a bad job. It had everything to do with directors/ writers not having a clue how to make a good movie.

That said, for some of us, there will only, ever be one live action Lara.
posted by quin at 2:03 AM on February 15, 2006

Does anyone actually care about this franchise after the games and films were universally rubbish?

I'm cautiously optimistic for the new game since Toby Gard (Lara's original designer) is back. Hadn't got around to trying his game Galleon, and I haven't played any of the Tomb Raider games after the first one. The game would have to get some pretty amazing reviews for me to try it though.
posted by bobo123 at 2:20 AM on February 15, 2006

Forget Tomb Raider, when are they going to make the next Super Mario film?
posted by ciderwoman at 2:20 AM on February 15, 2006

Was it just me but was the last 10 minutes of the first Tomb Raider movie like being in a Dali painting to anyone else? I had no idea what the hell was happening on screen.
posted by PenDevil at 3:05 AM on February 15, 2006

The original Tomb Raider, for which I had to buy a 3D video card that would work with little other software, was superb.
posted by rxrfrx at 4:59 AM on February 15, 2006

Well, it seems obvious to me that it was her nuanced performance as Sacrificial Maiden in AvP that got Eidos' attention.
posted by Dipsomaniac at 5:11 AM on February 15, 2006

I'm cautiously optimistic for the new game since Toby Gard (Lara's original designer) is back.
It's also interesting to note that Core isn't developing the new game, but rather Crystal Dynamics is. Maybe they'll be able to inject the 'fun' element that was so sorely missing in the last few (three? four? I lost count) Tomb Raider games.
posted by Dr-Baa at 5:15 AM on February 15, 2006

...the world's favourite female action archaeologist.

They had to get pretty specific there. I guess Laura Croft isn't the world's favorite action female, or female archaeologist, or action archaeologist. But female action archaeologist, she has the covered.
posted by a47danger at 5:22 AM on February 15, 2006

Haha, don't ask me about anything, all I know the character "Laura Croft" is that she got... BIG BUSTY BOOBS! (.)(.)
posted by lumcc at 5:38 AM on February 15, 2006

Perhaps, being from London, Karima can pull off an English accent that isn't a horrible embarrassment.
posted by thanotopsis at 5:41 AM on February 15, 2006

Forget Tomb Raider, when are they going to make the next Super Mario film?

Right after they raise Raul Julia from the grave and wrap production on the Street Fighter sequel.

"Street Fighter: The movie so bad, it killed Raul Julia."
posted by Mikey-San at 5:42 AM on February 15, 2006

What do you mean she doesn't look like Lara Croft? Lara Croft had a face?
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 5:44 AM on February 15, 2006

Up until recently, Karima was a sales assistant at Top Shop in London. She also worked as a model.

I love how they bury that clearly insignficant factoid to make it sound like kind of "Star is Born" nonsense. Just admit it's yet another movie with a model who never acted before being paid to bounce around in spandex and get it over with.
posted by XQUZYPHYR at 6:11 AM on February 15, 2006

Street Fighter: The movie so bad, it killed Raul Julia

I don't think I ever laughed so hard at something I should never laugh at.
posted by XQUZYPHYR at 6:11 AM on February 15, 2006

Perhaps, being from London, Karima can pull off an English accent that isn't a horrible embarrassment.

You aren't holding your breath, are you?
posted by twine42 at 6:25 AM on February 15, 2006

She was apparently the "sacrificial maiden" in AVP: Alien Vs. Predator. Getting a virtual unknown for the franchise means they are going cheap (and figure the tickets will sell based on the CGI/action, not the "name" of the star). Sad thing is, they are probably right. Jolie either didn't think that being associated a Tomb Raider sequel was such a good move in her career (at this point), wanted too much money, or was planning on being pregnant (or maternity leave) during the shooting dates - or combination thereof.
posted by spock at 6:26 AM on February 15, 2006

Super Mario Bros. (The movie).
posted by j-urb at 6:34 AM on February 15, 2006

Unless I'm reading it wrong, she's not going to be in a movie... she's just the girl hired to go around doing publicity for the new video game. Like a slightly more relevant booth babe.
posted by Jart at 6:36 AM on February 15, 2006

Thank GOD. I hate Angelina Jolie. The girl looks freakish. This one looks pretty hot. and REAL. fuck yeah.
posted by Doorstop at 6:38 AM on February 15, 2006

Hopefullly Angelina will finally be reduced to starring in Lesbian Porno Videos where she belongs and is more desperately needed by society.
posted by HTuttle at 6:51 AM on February 15, 2006

That's fine Doorstop, Angelina said once she's done with Brad she'll skip you and come running back to me.

Ah! Angelina I'll forgive you for Johnny Lee Miller if you say you'll come back to me...
posted by longbaugh at 6:53 AM on February 15, 2006

This is a really misleading headline (both this post and the news article). She is not "replacing" Jolie.

She's just the newest Edios "booth babe" incarnation of Lara Croft -- nothing to do with Angelina Jolie and the film series. There is a long line of Edios Lara Croft "models", this is just the latest.
posted by jca at 6:56 AM on February 15, 2006

AvP: the movie so bad, it (almost) killed two franchises at once.
posted by slimepuppy at 7:05 AM on February 15, 2006

Maybe I'm just getting too old to be in the target demographic, but I don't find her terribly attractive. Regardless of what other... assets... she may have, it's all about the face for me, and she has the face of a post-menopausal chain-smoking divorcee.

Of course, that's easy for me to say from the anonymity of the keyboard, and in fact having a face like a post-menopausal chain-smoking divorcee would be a significant improvement for me. But on the other hand, nobody's hiring me as a token hot woman to promote video games to horny teenaged boys.

Still, said boys probably won't be looking at her face a whole lot.
posted by thparkth at 7:07 AM on February 15, 2006

Just curious, but those guns she's holding in the picture in the link (and by guns, I mean firearms)... are they a real-life model or something fake from the Tomb Raider-verse?
posted by ruwan at 7:30 AM on February 15, 2006

thank you for that advertisement
posted by yonation at 7:31 AM on February 15, 2006

The Voice of Lara Croft
posted by sourwookie at 7:39 AM on February 15, 2006

ruwan, they look to be USP Match pistols, the same thing Jolie carried in the films.
posted by quin at 7:47 AM on February 15, 2006

Tomb Raider is my favorite game franchise of all time, for which I've taken no end of shit from my "hardcore" friends. If they can just make up for the inexcusable atrocity that was Angel of Darkness, all will be well.

And yes, thank God a thousand times that horrible creature Jolie is out of acting, and into being a full-time celebrity nutjob. The role was too good for her.
posted by slatternus at 7:50 AM on February 15, 2006

She has some big ... boots ... to fill.

You misspelled "ugly donkey lips."
posted by anomie at 8:16 AM on February 15, 2006

Best of the web!
posted by agregoli at 8:27 AM on February 15, 2006

I think you mean Breast of the web
posted by ciderwoman at 8:38 AM on February 15, 2006

She has some big ... boots ... to fill.

CGI, man. Swinging, bouncing CGI busting out all over the place.
posted by five fresh fish at 9:11 AM on February 15, 2006

she looks way cuter than angelina, but I don't know if I can watch it, after seeing the first Tomb Raider movie.... I lost my final shred of faith in humanity.
posted by tweak at 10:16 AM on February 15, 2006

Her boobs are so big I wonder if it interferes with her aim? Creepy.
posted by Nelson at 11:18 AM on February 15, 2006

Amie Sweet (SFW)
posted by PurplePorpoise at 11:32 AM on February 15, 2006

she looks way cuter than angelina, but I don't know if I can watch it, after seeing the first Tomb Raider movie.... I lost my final shred of faith in humanity.

Obviously you've never seen "Speed 2: Cruise Control."
posted by anomie at 12:39 PM on February 15, 2006

I don't know if I can watch it, after seeing the first Tomb Raider movie.... I lost my final shred of faith in humanity.

Hah. The first? I saw them both. In the theater. And I still have faith in you fuckers.

If you don't have the will to survive through utter shit in a theater, you've gotta avoid movies not screened for critics. It's that simple.
posted by graventy at 12:51 PM on February 15, 2006

why do people watch movies that obviously suck? Do you like wasting your time or what?
posted by puke & cry at 4:01 PM on February 15, 2006 [1 favorite]

I watched the first one in a dollar theater in order to enjoy some AC during a hot summer. I still feel ripped off.
posted by klangklangston at 4:40 PM on February 15, 2006

anomie: mercifully, no, I hve not seen Speed 2. Hell, I haven't even seen Titanic, it's prequel.
posted by tweak at 8:03 PM on February 15, 2006

One of the photos from this flickr set of the new Lara showed up on my flickr homepage last night.
posted by mike9322 at 5:53 AM on February 18, 2006